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Title: One Foot in the Grave by Wm. Mark Simmons ISBN: 0-671-87721-6 Publisher: Baen Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.69 (26 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Great book with a curious ending
Comment: I also bought this book because of the new twist, "Dracula Meets the Godfather" (written on the cover). It truly was a pleasurable read. The main character, Chris, is very droll, wry, witty, sometimes sarcastic - everything I like in a lead. For quite a while it's kept a mystery a) what's wrong with him and then b) what happened to start him on the way to becoming a vampire. It's a refreshing twist that he isn't just turned into one and then goes on neck-biting power trip like in other stories I can think of. The theory explaining vampirism that's put forth in the book is also an original twist (you practically want to believe it).
I enjoyed that for most of the book, Chris is weirded out and skeptical of the people around him and of the changes in his body as a real person would be. At the same time, he keeps his sense of humor in a great way. The author keeps everything very rooted in the real world, very modern, with references to horror movies we've all seen, Anne Rice - even my favorite, "Air Dracula" (in reference to a running leap made by one of the vampires who's pivotal in the plot). Very funny stuff.
The only problem was, this refreshing rooted-in-reality aspect was lost toward the end. Suddenly there weren't just vampires and werewolves (that the author established very well by then - you practically expect them to be living next door) but zombies and a long dead creepy dating back to ancient Egypt. It was like the book suddenly took a turn into the campy horror that it was making fun of all along. I thought that was a curious way to end a book that was extremely well-written and refreshing otherwise.
Rating: 4
Summary: scattered and illogical but great puns and wisecracks
Comment: OK, I am a sucker for good dialog. I love puns. I love snappy comebacks. And this book is loaded with them. That's the good news. The bad news: the plot is thin, hard to follow. A few characters are fully fleshed out (as it were) but many are sketchy, and many are killed off before we get to know them. The motives can be confusing. Count Dracula isn't really Count Dracula, and we don't ever really find out who he is.
Nonetheless, it was so much fun to read. I kept quoting bits of the dialog to my significant other.
Some of BunRab's Standard Vampire Classification: -Series: if it is, it's the first one. -Significant genre it comes from: Fantasy/humor. -Does the vampire hold a job? Well sort of, although he loses it in the course of the book. -Do the vampires drink blood? Yes, though it can be animal instead of human. -Is drinking blood a metaphor for sex? No, although it can occur during sex. -Is there a lot of sex? Nope, and not much detail for what there is. -Are there other supernatural characters? Yup, and a few too many of them, if you ask me. Introducing umpteen different subspecies of elves was an unnecessary complication. -Is it deadly serious (pardon the pun)? Nope, I believe I've addressed that. I mean, we have vampires with library cards picking up girls at the research desk, for pete's sake. -Is it well written? Well, the dialogue is great, the plotting and resolution a little less great. But it's not hard to read, and it's acceptable for fantasy.
Incidentally, I worked for a department store credit department in a large city with lots of ethnic population, so I knew how to pronounce Csejthe right off the bat. The book finally does explain it after a bit.
Rating: 4
Summary: How Can He Believe in Vampires?
Comment: Christopher Csejthe's life is over. He lost his beloved wife and daughter in an automobile accident and now he has some weird disease that no one has ever seen before. He can't eat, he can't sleep, he had to quit his job as a teacher because he can't stand the sunlight so now he spends his nights as a disc jockey for a small local radio station waiting to die at any moment. When two strange women show up and try to convince him to travel with them to Seattle, Christopher is having none of it - until some strange monster tries to attack him at work. Suddenly, Christopher doesn't find himself so ready to die.
What he discovers in Seattle is that he is a vampire, well, sort of. Christopher has the reflexes and instincts of a young vampire, but has not yet transformed completely. He is an anomaly and there are those who want him dead and there are those who want him studied. Christopher himself just wants to get away from all of these freaky people who believe in crap like vampires and werewolves and stuff. With careful plotting and a random break in at the compound, Christopher is able to escape, but he doesn't get far. It turns out that there are many other vampires looking for him. Vampires who believe that Christopher can lead them to THE vampire - Count Dracula himself...
One Foot in the Grave was a very unusual vampire book that I greatly enjoyed. I loved Christopher as a character, he was witty, sarcastic, and completely unwilling to believe that he was now one of the powerful undead. It was also endearing to see him make so many mistakes and to know that he had weaknesses and could be manipulated, but he was still trying to be "the good guy." The plot had many unexpected twists and turns and the author really keeps you guessing until the last page of the book. The only complaint I had was that Christopher changed pretty abruptly (and not for the better in my opinion) near the end of the book and suddenly there are all of these other characters that play important roles. This was kind of weird, but I still really enjoyed the book. If you have the good fortune to come across a copy of this book at a reasonable price snatch it up - you will enjoy yourself!
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Title: Dead on My Feet by Wm. Mark Simmons, James P. Baen, James Baen ISBN: 0743436105 Publisher: Baen Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: Death Masks (The Dresden Files, Book 5) by Jim Butcher ISBN: 0451459407 Publisher: Roc Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Dreamland Chronicles by William Mark Simmons ISBN: 1892065606 Publisher: Meisha Merlin Publishing Pub. Date: July, 2002 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Seduced By Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton ISBN: 034544356X Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Blood Is Thicker Than Water by Wynette A. Hoffman ISBN: 0972109803 Publisher: Alien Perspective Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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